Little Rock Crisis

Introduction

Three years after the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Brown v. Board of Education that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, nine African American students desegregated Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. The students, Minnijean Brown, Terrance Roberts, Elizabeth Eckford, Ernest Green, Thelma Mothershed, Melba Patillo, Gloria Ray, Jefferson Thomas, and Carlotta Walls, inspired a generation with their courage and dignity.

Documents

Classroom Activity: Ask your students to create a timeline about the Little Rock crisis using information from this document. Let your students identify what is missing from the timeline as a way to motivate more research.

Classroom Activity: Lead a discussion about this content and purpose of this document. What does King mean when he says, ‘You must meet physical force with soul force’? Can you think of an example in your own life when you needed ‘soul force’? How does the conviction that ‘history is on your side’ help to motivate people to remain non-violent?